By Geoff Smith - Lethbridge News Now

Legacy of Erle Rivers may still be honoured if high school closes

Mar 16, 2018 | 3:36 PM

LETHBRIDGE – The superintendent of the Horizon School Division says the legacy of Erle Rivers could be carried on, even if plans proceed to amalgamate Milk River’s two schools.

The 2018 Capital Plan approved by Horizon’s Board of Trustees lists as its top project the demolition of Erle Rivers High School, and adding new classrooms and a gymnasium to the existing Milk River Elementary School to convert it to a K-12 facility.

The news came as a surprise to Diana Davoren, the granddaughter of Erle Rivers, who is concerned about the continued legacy of her grandfather. Following the announcement, a petition was created calling on the school division to preserve the Erle Rivers High School building, rather than tear it down.

“When this all started, there were many, many emotions involved,” Davoren said in a statement to Lethbridge News Now. “It now has become more about getting the facts out there.

“My grandfather put education first and foremost. And as my mother so greatly puts it, ‘We truly only want what is the best for the students of the Milk River area.’”

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Milk River High School was renamed in honour of Rivers, a teacher and principal for 34 years, in November 1964, three months before his passing.

Superintendent Wilco Tymensen said he has spoken to a member of the family. In an interview, he explained if the plan goes ahead, the combined school could be renamed in honour of Rivers.

“If we amalgamate the schools, the other school is called Milk River Elementary. And so that name would no longer fit the school,” Tymensen said. “The board would have to go through a process of changing the name of that new facility.”

It’s not certain if or when the amalgamation might go ahead. Each year school divisions prepare an updated capital plan, which amounts to a sort of wish list. It’s up to the province to provide funding.

There’s been no indication the government is prepared to move on other Horizon priorities such as modernizations in Taber and Lomond. But Tymensen said going back to the previous Progressive Conservative government, the Milk River situation has been identified as a priority. The Erle Rivers building is considered to be among the schools in the poorest condition in the province. In addition, Erle Rivers High School is accommodating fewer than 90 students in a building built for 450.

The NDP government requested a value management session in 2016. A year later, in December 2017, Tymensen said they explored five options: modernizing the high school, a new high school building, a new combined K-12 building, amalgamating all grades at the high school, or doing the same in the elementary school. The last of the five options was ultimately chosen for the capital plan.

Tymensen said they’ve involved community stakeholders throughout the process and have worked to inform the public. Now it’s in the province’s hands.

“What will happen is, as the government releases their budgets, they will decide to what extent are they prepared to fund capital projects, and of those capital projects, how many school projects will there be. And then, what they’ll do is, they’ll make an announcement saying, we’re prepared to provide this much money to these projects. And then the real planning can start.”